1. Field of Invention
This invention pertains to the art of insulating glass windows featuring decorative muntin bar arrangements located between the panes of the insulating glass window, and more particularly to the devices inserted into the ends of the muntin bars to secure them between the panes of the insulating glass window.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is known in the art to insert devices into the muntin bars to secure them within insulating glass windows. It is known to manufacture these devices out of nylon to prevent discoloration and clouding of the glass.
While some of these devices perform adequately, the installation and assembly time into the muntin bars themselves is significant. For some arrangements, such as, a diamond-shaped muntin bar, the cost of assembly was significantly more than the cost of material's and made the cost of windows in some cases prohibitive. Because of the variety of angles present in a diamond-shaped muntin arrangement, a variety of inserted devices are needed. Some devices tend to work adequately with one angle and poorly with another angle. Some devices require trimming if they are used in a single end of the muntin bar, rather than at a juncture of two such bars which join to form an angle.
A significant drawback in the prior art was the requirement that a pad be attached directly to the muntin and not the inserted device before the muntin bar arrangement was inserted into the insulating glass window. The function of the pad is to stabilize the muntin bar arrangement between the panes of the window without rattling. A second function of the device is to help brace the individual muntin bars in the arrangement against the spacer bar adjacent it. The function of the inserted device is to stabilize the junction of two muntin bars into the desired angle. A prior art method includes inserting devices into the muntin bars and applying a silicon adhesive to the juncture. The muntin bar and inserted devices were then secured together, such as by clothespins, and allowed to dry for up to 48 hours. At this point, the muntin bar could be fitted with pads and inserted into the insulating glass window. The pads needed to be fitted and cut to each angle so as to lay flat against the spacer bar within the insulating glass window.
The present invention contemplates a new and improved stabilizing device which is simple and inexpensive in design and manufacture, yet overcomes the foregoing difficulties and others while providing better and more advantageous overall results.